six weeks with morrocco method

For a while now, I've been searching for a solution to my ever thinning hair. I have the double whammy of Hashimoto's disease and PCOS, both of which can cause hair loss. I've also been moving toward the natural side of things as I attempt to reclaim my health. When I saw an ad for Morrocco Method on one of the blogs I follow, I decided to check it out. I could find nothing but rave reviews (which actually made me even more skeptical), but as it was cheaper than Monat, the shampoo brand I'd been using with some success, I decided to give it a go. I settled on the Healthy Hair Starter Package. At $69, it's a good chunk of change, but I thought it would give me the best taste of what the company had to offer.

Day 1: Used "Earth" shampoo, Diamond spray conditioner, and Blood of the Tiger gel. Shampoo smells horrible. My hair dried much faster than normal today. It also seems dull and lifeless. I also used my normal hair spray to finish off my style--not sure I could go without hair spray on a rainy day like today.

Day 10: My hair is a nasty grease ball. It has been ever since Day 2. I've rotated the shampoos like is recommended, but my hair never feels clean. They talk about a "detox process" on their website, so I guess that's what is happening to me. But YUCK! I'd throw in the towel if I hadn't paid so much for the system. So I'll stick it out for my month, I guess. Also, I should note that I'm not using any product anymore except what came with the system. And I should note that we took our yearbook staff picture for this year's yearbook today ... so the grease will be immortalized.

Day 11: I used the Zen Detox Masque tonight. Honestly, it felt like I was slathering mud on my hair. BUT, after I rinsed it out and my hair dried, the top of my head felt so much less greasy! I'm not going to shampoo tomorrow--it's Saturday, and I don't need to go anywhere--so we'll see where things stand on Sunday. I also watched a bunch of Morrocco Method videos on YouTube tonight. I probably should have watched them long ago--lots of helpful information about brushing and using that weird rubber massager that came with the kit!

Day 15: Got my hair cut today. As usual, my stylist washed it and then styled it with lots of product afterward. After using Zen Detox, my hair felt way less oily, but now it feels downright dry. Hope I'm not taking a step backwards ...

Day 30: So I took a major break from posting, but this is SO. WEIRD. My hair has become super curly! I've always had natural curl, but this is ridiculous.

I decided to continue beyond the initial month because I still had shampoo left. It's now been six weeks. So, what are my thoughts? I think my hair is healthier. The curls have backed off some, and there are times that my hair still feels greasy. I now wash every 2-3 days instead of every day. (On the off days, I still get my hair wet in the shower, I just don't wash it.)

What I haven't noticed is a slowdown in hair loss or new hair growth--two things I am positive were happening with Monat. So I'm still on the fence. I like Morrocco Method (except for the smell, which isn't terrible, but it's certainly not pleasant), but I'm not sure if it's the answer I've been looking for.

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snow day #2

I don't know if I've ever had two snow days in a row before. I suppose it may have happened back in the day, but I certainly don't remember it. And, as a nice little bonus, we also have a late start tomorrow!

I woke up this morning to the smell of gasoline. My sleep-addled brain finally determined that the smell was coming through my heat ducts. I opened the door to my utility closet, and the stench slapped me in the face. My first thought was to call my landlord. My second thought was to shower before calling him (as I didn't shower yesterday--yay for snow days!), just in case he was already on site and decided to come right over. While in the shower, it occurred to me that the smell might not be coming from my furnace but might instead be drifting up from the laundry room and/or utility room, both of which are directly below my apartment. When I checked out the utility room, I determined that the smell had originated there. Perhaps my landlord had problems with the snow blower this morning? I turned my heat way down so the stench would not be transported through the apartment by my heater. Then I closed all the other doors in the apartment, opened the utility closet, sprayed Febreze, and turned on a fan. After several hours, the smell dissipated.

When I ventured down to check my mail around noon, this is what I saw:

I don't know how many inches that is, but I know it's a lot! Later, after my neighbor and the Bobcat man were finished moving snow, this is what the front lawn looked like:

Notice the SUV in the background--the snow practically obscures it!

I spent my afternoon cleaning my bedroom. I've discovered that I sleep better in my spare bedroom, so my room has been quite neglected recently. However, one of my students is staying with me over Christmas break, so I'll have to move back to my room. Hopefully having it clean will make it a little more inhabitable!

I ventured out to do some laundry at my parents' house, and then I got a haircut (which was rescheduled from yesterday). Val said she liked it, but Blendy said she prefers it when it flips out. Well, it will probably be flipping out tomorrow--I don't really possess many hair-doing skills, and letting it flip out (or basically go whichever way it pleases) is the easiest!

We had Awana tonight, despite the fact that both NC and the public school were closed today. Next Wednesday is our Christmas program, so I guess it was pretty important that the kids were there to practice. We only had nine Sparks, so our practice accomplished a little, but not a lot. Hopefully more will be there next Wednesday!

After Awana, I watched the end of Edward Scissorhands while munching on some delicious cinnamon popcorn that Sue, my Sparks co-director, brought for treats tonight. (Shocker that Sue would bring popcorn!)

A glimpse of both the new haircut and the popcorn ... as well as my styling flip-flop pajamas!

All in all, it's been an excellent two days off!

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hair adventures

My sister and I do not have a good track record when it comes to coloring and/or highlighting our hair.

One of the first times I dyed my hair, it came out purple instead of slightly red as I'd intended. The first time I highlighted was my senior year of college. My friend Jami did it for me, and instead of having a few blonde highlights spread throughout my brown hair, I practically became blonde! I made an emergency Walmart run the next day and found a sale on hair color--two for the price of one. So I bought two boxes of some shade of brown and dyed my hair twice. You'd think I would have learned my lesson about blonde highlights, but no, a year later I tried again . . . with the same results! This time it was Dollar General to the rescue.

My sister's hair hasn't fared much better. We highlighted it successfully several times, but when she decided to go brown . . . well, let's just say there was some green involved! We learned anything with "ash" in the name wouldn't go over well, so last time, we tried a golden brown. Her hair came out in a nice shade of orange.

Today, we decided to give it a go again. Amazingly, both our dye jobs turned out well! I had one of those dye & highlight kits, and I was a tad apprehensive about the highlighting part, but I like the way it turned out.

So, here's a glimpse of our (matching) hair.

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